Ira Byock, MD

Bethlehem, PA (5/8/2014) -- Dr. Ira Byock, best-selling author will speak about his book The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About Living, on Wednesday, May 14 in Bethlehem.

Dr. Byock brings his message of improving relationships and healing rifts by using some basic, time-honored phrases, including Please forgive me, I forgive you, thank you and I love you. In working with patients and families in his medical practice, he has learned that each and every one of us is hardwired to matter to one another and that these concepts are accepted without regard to religion, race, ethnicity or culture.

“These concepts are the universal truth of the human condition,” said Dr. Byock. Many times we may have estranged or strained relationships that are emotionally dissatisfying, and “how to” strategies to express these core values helps us to have the relationships we both want and deserve, he said.

Learning how to use the key phrases throughout your lifetime can help people feel forgiveness for self and others; feel gratitude; love yourself and others; and learn to let go, according to Dr. Byock. The premises may help to do the right thing, cut through old history and provide opportunities for forgiveness, love and emotional growth.

Although none of us can change the past, said Dr. Byock, having the ability to change the future of your relationship with yourself and improving your life through your connection with others is a choice. And, he adds, a choice to make while we are still able to make peace with parents, siblings and other loved ones while we live. “Broken relationships must be mended while you can,” said Dr. Byock. “Relationships are still alive in us even after our loved one dies.”

At 7:30 pm on Wednesday, May 14, the Dr. and Mrs. Max Littner Memorial Lecture Series for Bereavement and St. Luke’s University Health Network will present Dr. Byock at a community event:

The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About LivingAn Evening with Ira Byock, MD7:30 pm on Wednesday, May 14, 2014Central Moravian ChurchWest Church & Main Streets, Bethlehem PA

“Dr. Byock was selected as this year’s feature speaker because his message is basic to good mental health across the lifespan,” said grief counselor, Wendy Littner Thomson, M.Ed., LPC, RYT. “There is enormous value in getting our relationships ‘current,’ so when the time comes for us, or for a loved one to die, we will have the potential for a greater sense of peace – whether it is the end of our life or as we navigate our bereavement. If there are unsettled issues, regrets or resentments, loss is tougher to integrate after a death.”

Thomson finished, “Dr. Byock’s work is a perfect place to start to help us to remove barriers to healthy relationships, and we are delighted he is coming!”

General admission tickets are $15 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 1-866-STLUKES (1-866-785-8537) or order at www.sluhn.org/irabyock.

Tickets are also available for purchase at Moravian Book Shop. Dr. Byock’s book The Four Things That Matter Most is available for purchase at Moravian Book Shop – purchase in the store in advance of the lecture and receive a 20 percent discount on the book. Books will also be available for purchase the night of the lecture at Central Moravian Church.